Monk Rewrites the Record Books in Beautiful Calligraphy

After 27 years of painstaking work, an Italian monk has rewritten the record books.

Toiling 17 hours a day by candlelight and using an ornate script, Lucia d'Arrezo rewrote the record books of the NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball, college football and college basketball into nearly two dozen large, gold-leaf, leather-bound volumes.

"My work began in 1984 and today it is done," d'Arrezo said. "It was the crowning achievement of my life, but I did it all for the glory of God and these remarkable athletes He created."

Totaling more than 6,000 pages, the completed record books provide a visually stunning look at sports history. For example, the entry listing Hank Aaron's 755 career home runs is detailed with a beautiful vine and flower illustration that encircles the number, truly giving the feat a regal and deserving appearance that a black and white computer printout could never provide.

With his life's work at an end, d'Arrezo, age 62, will now transition into a sort of "retired" monk's role, with prayer filling the majority of his daily activities.

"I am looking forward to this next phase in my spiritual life," he said.

When asked if he realized that most of the sports records he began transcribing in 1984 have since been broken and even re-broken, leaving much of his work useless, d'Arrenzo kept a pious outlook.